The New Nation - Internet Edition

Our Correspondent, Barisal

All of the 14 accused of another one of the 12 cases lodged in connection of 17 August series bomb blast have been acquitted by Barisal divisional speedy trial tribunal on Thursday.

Family members of the accused demanded speedy trial, judicial probe and punishment of the real accused alleging police harassments.

Rabiul Hassan, judge of the Barisal divisional speedy trial tribunal acquitting all of the 14 accused of case no. 4 from charges ordered on Thursday to release the accused in custody if not involved in any other case.

The court after examining 25 witnesses and other evidences said that prosecution has failed to probe the charges against accused in the case no.4 lodged in connection of series bomb blast of August 17, 2005.

The acquitted 14 accused were: Golam Morshed Chowd-hury Reza, chemistry honors student, Jalal Arefin, SSC student, Hafez Saiful Islam, Abu Yusuf Majumdar, Abu Solaiman Sujan, blind and HSC student, also officials and staffs of Al Ikram Social Welfare Society, Md. Maruf, Jasimuddin, Abdus Sobahan, Sultan Sharif, Giasuddin, Sarwar, Abdur Rahim and Zahid Babu, their associates and Ziaur Rahman Zia, director of Al Ikram.

The verdict announced in presence of first ten accused and the trial completed in absentia of absconding last four accused.

Prosecution story was that after the series bomb blast in 18 places of the city on August 17, 2008, police arrested 5 employees of Al-Ikram Samaj Kalyan Sangstha, a newly founded non-government organization in Barisal city by one Ziaur Rahman Zia of Jhalakati and accused them along with 9 others in all of 12 cases lodged in connection of that incidents.

The case No. 4 of those 12 cases was lodged by Sub Inspector Mosharraf Hossain of Barisal Kotwali police station as complainant in connection of bomb blasted in front of deputy commissioner office on that day.

Sub Inspector Shishir Kumar Das, filed chargesheet against the 14 accused of case no. 4 on December 25, 2005.

However earlier all of them have been acquitted from charges by the Barisal divisional speedy tribunal after trailed on last December 20, 2006 in another one of 12 cases lodged against them in connection of series bomb blast.

But the arrestees were not released from jail nor granted bail even after acquitted by the court from one case of same nature and incident, as also accused in rest 11 cases lodged in same connection.